Eurowatch – Week One

As Euro 2008 marches on, we thought we’d take a look at how the various LFC players in the competition are doing. Not that we have as much interest in the tournament as, say, Chelski or Arsenal – and most of our players are on the subs’ benches rather than starting – but nevertheless, a couple of Reds have already managed to make an impact…

Star of the Week – Dirk Kuyt

The various people – both among our fans, and outside them – who slag off Kuyt’s low scoring tally in Premier League games forget what an important player he’s been not just in the Champions League for us, but also for Holland over the past few years. And as the boys in Orange have made a quite simply stunning start to the tournament, installing themselves as early favourites in the process, Our Dirk’s contribution has been splendid. He had a hand in two of the three goals in the fantastic win over World Champions Italy – the first a lovely header from van Bronckhorst’s long ball to set up Sneijder’s volley (for my money, still the best goal of a tournament that’s already produced a fair few crackers). The second, meanwhile, showcased all the typical Kuyt attributes – played in brilliantly on the counter-attack by Gio, he lashed his shot straight at the advancing Buffon, but knew better than to give up, and chased the rebound to the by-line before planting a perfect lobbed cross onto his co-raider’s head. Things got even better for Dirk – and Holland – in their second game, with a fantastic 4-1 victory over France, in which our number 18 headed in the first goal neatly and simply from a corner. Let’s just hope he can keep this up in the coming weeks – and that Rafa doesn’t see fit to offload such a hardworking and likeable player in our ongoing attempts to raise transfer funds…

Also Impressing – Fernando Torres
El Nino was hotly tipped to make an impact in Euro 2008 before his incredible debut Premier League season was anywhere near over. Yet those who’ve watched him play for Spain in recent years will know that he’s often struggled to fit in to Aragones’ system (this, coupled with his low goal tally for Atletico, led many to suggest he’d struggle at Anfield, little knowing both how well he would adapt, and how Rafa would build a system around him). It’s surprising, therefore, just how well he’s been able to make an impact at the tournament so far. Yes, he’s been overshadowed slightly by the scoring contribution of four-goal David Villa, but he’s already forged a strong link with the Valencia man, playing him in unselfishly after carving out the opening for the first goal in the 4-1 win over Russia, before showing terrific striker’s instinct to steer home a cross and give Spain a vital lead over Sweden. It’s just a shame that Villa’s already added another fifteen million or so to his asking price, as there’s probably no chance of recreating that linkup in the red of Liverpool…

Stuck on the Bench…
Sadly, it’s been a quiet tournament elsewhere for our boys. Despite having three other players in the Spain squad, they’re all firmly backups – Reina and Arbeloa haven’t even left the bench, while Xabi Alonso managed less than a quarter of an hour against Russia. And our other representative in the tournament, new signing Philip Degen, has been struggling for fitness and didn’t get near the pitch for Switzerland, not even managing a cameo in their surprise win over Portugal.

The Old Boys…
It’s not been a stellar tournament so far for the two ex-Reds, either. Nicolas Anelka led the line for France in their opening game in the absence of Thierry Henry, but suffered in a soporific 0-0 draw, and only got on for the closing 15 minutes against Holland. Milan Baros, meanwhile, failed to repeat his form of tournaments past, not appearing at all for the Czechs in their opening win over Switzerland or their pulsating defeat to Turkey – and yet somehow conspired to get booked while still on the bench in that latter game! He did play the full 90 in defeat by Portugal, but struggled to make any sort of impact. If France fail to go through this coming week, then, we’ll just be left with the Spaniards and Kuyt to keep an eye on…

Seb Patrick